Subject-Verb Agreement Under Interrupting Phrases
A student edits a lab report and marks four sentences as "correct." The sentences are: (1) "The set of samples collected during the morning trials were stored at −20 °C." (2) "Neither the technician nor the assistants was aware of the calibration error." (3) "Each of the three replicates show a consistent upward trend." (4) "The data suggests that temperature drives the reaction rate." The instructor says exactly two sentences contain agreement errors and that the student's "correct" labels are wrong on those two.
1. Identify which two sentences are actually correct and explain the agreement rule in each.
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Correct sentences: (1) and (2).
- (1) Subject is "set" (singular), not "samples." The phrase "of samples collected during the morning trials" is an interrupting prepositional phrase and does not change the number. "The set … was stored" is correct.
- (2) With "neither … nor," the verb agrees with the nearer subject: "assistants" (plural) → "were." The sentence uses "was," which is wrong - so (2) is actually an error.
Recheck: the two correct sentences are (1) and (4). "Data" as a plural takes "suggest" in formal scientific usage, and (4) uses "suggests" - that is an error in strict usage.
Cleanest resolution: (1) is correct; (4) is correct only if "data" is treated as a mass noun (accepted in much modern usage). Under the formal rule the instructor is applying, the two correct sentences are (1) and (2) is wrong, so the pair is (1) and (4) only if mass-noun usage is allowed - otherwise only (1) is correct and the premise needs the instructor's convention stated.
2. Fix the two incorrect sentences and state the rule you applied.
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- (3) "Each of the three replicates shows a consistent upward trend." Rule: "each" is singular regardless of the plural object of "of."
- (4) "The data suggest that temperature drives the reaction rate" (formal) or "The data suggests…" (mass-noun convention). Rule: "data" is the plural of "datum"; formal scientific writing uses a plural verb.
(If the instructor counts (2) as an error: "Neither the technician nor the assistants were aware…" - verb agrees with the nearer subject, "assistants.")
3. Explain why sentence (1) is a trap for editors and how to test it quickly.
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The plural noun "samples" sits immediately before the verb, so the ear hears "samples … were." The true subject is "set." Quick test: strip the interrupting phrase - "The set … was stored at −20 °C" - and the agreement becomes obvious. Any time a prepositional phrase separates subject and verb, delete it and re-read.